Frequently asked questions

Everything we get asked about Populate.ai — how it works, what's supported, privacy, and troubleshooting.

The basics

What is Populate.ai?+

Populate.ai is a browser-first tool that turns bills, invoices, receipts, photos, and dictated notes into clean, structured data you can export to CSV, XLS, or PDF. A 5-agent pipeline runs OCR, cleans the text, spell-checks, translates if needed, and scores confidence before showing you the result.

Who is it for?+

Freelancers, accountants, small businesses, and anyone tired of typing line items from a paper receipt into a spreadsheet. If you process a handful of documents a week or hundreds a day, it works the same.

Is it free?+

Yes. The current version is free to use. Anonymous use and signing in to save your work are both currently free. We may introduce paid plans for high-volume users later.

Do I need to create an account?+

No account is needed to use Populate.ai — upload and extract anonymously, and nothing is stored on our servers. If you'd like your documents saved and available across devices, you can optionally sign in. Signed-in documents are stored securely and you can delete them anytime.

Uploading documents

What file types can I upload?+

PDF, PNG, JPG, and common audio formats (WebM, MP4/M4A, MP3, WAV, OGG, AAC) for dictation.

Is there a file size limit?+

Each file is capped at 15 MB, and the combined size of files in a single upload session is also capped at 15 MB total. This is a free service and the cap keeps processing fast and reliable for everyone.

Can I upload more than one file at a time?+

Yes — drag and drop multiple files, or select several in the picker. They process sequentially through the 5-agent pipeline.

Can I take a photo with my phone?+

Yes. Tap "Take photo" on a mobile device and your camera opens directly. Aim for good lighting and a flat surface for the best OCR.

What is dictation?+

Tap "Dictate" to record yourself describing an expense — e.g. "Lunch with Maya, twenty-two euros, June 12, paid by card." Populate.ai transcribes and structures it just like a scanned receipt.

Privacy & security

Where do my documents go?+

If you use Populate.ai anonymously, your documents are processed only to extract your data, are not stored on our servers, and the structured result is kept only in your browser's local storage. If you sign in, your documents and extracted data are stored securely in your account so you can access them across devices — and you can delete any document, or your whole account, at any time. In both cases, extraction is performed via a secure AI processing service that keeps no copy of your files.

Do you train models on my data?+

No. Your documents are not used to train any model.

Is there an antivirus scan?+

Yes — every file is checked in your browser before processing. We verify the file's actual contents match its declared type, block executables and archives, and scan PDFs for active-content tokens commonly used by malware.

What happens if I close the tab?+

If you're signed in, your processed documents are saved to your account and will be there when you return, on any device. If you're using Populate.ai anonymously, processed documents are kept only in your browser's local storage — clearing your browser data removes them.

Can I delete my saved documents or account?+

Yes. Signed-in users can delete any individual document, and can delete their entire account and all associated data from account settings. Deletion is permanent and removes your documents and personal data from our systems.

Accuracy & the pipeline

How accurate is the extraction?+

Each field gets a confidence score. Anything below 90% is automatically routed to the Review queue so you can verify it. In practice, clean PDFs score very high; photos of crumpled receipts vary.

What are the 5 agents?+

Extract (OCR / vision), Clean (normalize text), Spell-check (fix recognition errors), Translate (optional, into your preferred language), and Score (confidence + flagging for review).

What languages are supported?+

OCR handles the major Latin-script languages and many non-Latin scripts out of the box. The translate step can render the cleaned output in English or your preferred target language.

What if a field is wrong?+

Open the document from "Recent" or the "Review queue," click any field, and edit it. Corrections are saved instantly.

Exporting & integrations

What export formats are available?+

CSV (universal spreadsheet), XLS (Excel), and a formatted PDF summary. CSV is the most flexible for downstream tools.

Can I push results into my accounting tool?+

Direct integrations aren't built in yet. For now, export CSV/XLS and import into your tool of choice. Tell us which integration you'd like — popular requests get prioritized.

Troubleshooting

My upload was blocked by the security scan — why?+

The file looked like an executable, an archive, or a PDF with active content. Re-export it as a plain PDF ("Print to PDF" works well) or save the image as PNG/JPG and try again.

OCR confidence is low — what can I do?+

Re-scan with brighter, even lighting, lay the document flat, and avoid heavy shadows. For phone photos, hold the camera straight on (not angled).

The page seems stuck on "processing."+

Refresh the page — your file isn't lost, processing resumes from your local queue. If it happens repeatedly, try a smaller file or a different format.

I don't see my old documents.+

If you're signed in, your documents are tied to your account — make sure you're signed in on the device you're using. If you used Populate.ai anonymously, documents live only in the browser you created them in and won't appear on other browsers or devices.

Developers — API & MCP

Do you have an API?+

Yes. Populate.ai ships a public REST API at /api/v1/* (parse, reconstruct, list documents, fetch one). Create a key on the Developers page and send it as Authorization: Bearer pop_live_….

What is MCP and how do I connect it?+

MCP (Model Context Protocol) lets AI assistants call external tools. Add https://populate.info/mcp to Claude, ChatGPT (developer mode), Cursor, or any MCP client and sign in with your Populate.ai account when prompted — the assistant can then parse documents and read your saved uploads on your behalf.

Do API and MCP calls count against my free uploads?+

No — API keys and MCP tools act as your signed-in Populate.ai user, which bypasses the 5-upload anonymous cap. Beta row/page limits still apply.

Roadmap & feedback

How do I send feedback or a bug report?+

Email us or use the feedback link in the footer of any results page. Specific examples (a redacted screenshot, the field that was wrong) help us fix things fast.

What's coming next?+

Better multi-page invoice handling, more export targets, opt-in cloud sync, and accounting tool integrations. The roadmap is shaped by what users ask for most.